RoseFile Essays

Name	Color	Cold	Breeder	Rating
Botzaris	Candy Pink	Zone 5	Robert
Ispahan	Candy Pink	Zone 4	Vibert	8.4
Marie Louise	Candy Pink	Zone 5	Hardy	8.5
Celsiana	Pink	Zone 5		8.8
Gloire de Guilan	Pink	Zone 5	Found by Lindsay
Kazanlik	Pink	Zone 5		7.6
St. Nicholas	Pink	Zone 5	James
Autumn Damask	Rose	Zone 4	none	8.2
Blush Damask	Rose	Zone 5
Duc de Cambridge	Rose	Zone 4
La Ville de Bruxelles	Rose	Zone 5	Vibert	8.4
Leda	White	Zone 4		8.2
Madame Hardy	White	Zone 5	Hardy	9.0
Madame Zoetmans	White	Zone 4	Marest	8.7

It is widely assumed that the first damask rose in Europe found its way there when a nobleman brought it with him from the Levant upon returning from the Crusades. This is only of importance because it suggests a class of roses that might have just a little more tolerance of heat and bright sun and dry weather than do gallicas. Damasks can be quite fragrant; Kazanlik is used to create rose attar for perfumes. They can be quite foliferous; Celsiana will cover itself in pink blossoms. In several cases the flowers are almost three inches across, flat, and intricately inlaid with petals as is the case with Madame Hardy. Damasks may be less prone to downy mildew than Centifolias and less prone to black spot than Bourbons. A number are better branched than most of the old european roses except, perhaps, Albas.